Shoes, bags or clothes: on Vinted you can find everything, but you can also find bad deals. There are more and more online sales platforms, for second-hand products or not, that create specialized services in item authentication and the fight against counterfeiting.
This is particularly the case for the Lithuanian platform, which created a special department a few months ago to counter sales and purchases of counterfeit products. The company refuses to disclose figures regarding the counterfeits identified on its site. She also doesn’t mention her methods to slow them down.
The only indication: the platform is changing its counterfeit detection algorithms accordingly, to follow the evolution of the most searched items for replicas, seasonal items or trending products. However, the online sales site does give some advice to buyers to avoid being scammed and subsequently illegal.
Here are 5 tips from Vinted to avoid fakes:
Check proof of authenticity
Invoice, certificate, label, logo, packaging… There are many ways to verify the authenticity of a product, especially a luxury or popular brand. It is imperative to get closer to the details of the product to scrutinize the seams, shapes and other finishes. If in doubt, feel free to contact sellers for more information or consult specialists who will easily recognize a fake. For sellers, it is also necessary to highlight this authenticity, otherwise Vinted may reserve the right to hide or remove the listing.
Beware of (too) low prices
If Vinted can be an opportunity to make good deals, beware of offers that are too good. For the big brands, the price is indeed a good indicator of the authenticity or not of a product. Example with this pair of Yeezy sneakers indicated as new and never worn and sold for 90 euros. Beyond its very different appearance from the original model, it is enough to go to specialized shoe sales sites to verify that this pair is worth at least 300 euros.
Interact with resellers
To avoid scams, it is necessary that potential buyers do not hesitate to talk to sellers. It is also recommended to take a look next to the seller’s profile: generally rated from one to 5 stars, it allows you to have opinions from other Internet users on the reliability of the account.
Report suspicious content
If they have concerns about a product, consumers can report the item as counterfeit. A “three dots” button on the mobile app and a flag on the desktop version allow registered users to report the ad and product as counterfeit.
· Use the payment methods of the application
Sometimes buyers can request to be paid independently and off-platform. But to protect yourself from possible scams and later problems, it is recommended to buy through the platform, with the “Buy Now” button. This allows users to benefit from secure payment, access to customer support, and a refund policy.
Source: BFM TV
